Consumption decreased

(Baonghean)Normally, every Tet holiday, the price of candy, beer and wine increases by at least 10%, but this year, due to the difficult economic situation and gloomy purchasing power, manufacturers have limited the price increase as much as possible, some even reduced prices to boost year-end purchasing power.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu, owner of G7 Mart store on Ha Huy Tap street (Vinh city) said: In previous years, big companies all raised prices at the end of the year, but this year it is the opposite, competing with each other to have year-end promotions such as Cai Lan oil company, Hao Hao instant noodles, and tin cake manufacturers... This year, purchasing power is forecast to decrease, so we prepare only about 50% of the amount of confectionery for Tet compared to previous years. The economy is difficult, people reduce spending, and agents do not dare to take too much goods for fear of stockpiling. Up to this point, all Tet confectionery prices are stable, not increasing, but consumption has decreased significantly. At our store, sales have also decreased by 50% compared to previous years.



Candy stall in BigC supermarket.

Ms. Dung - owner of Dung Vinh agency, Nguyen Trai street (Vinh city) said: "This year, the price of Tet confectionery market is stable, only Hanoi beer increased from 185,000 VND/box to 225,000 VND/box. At this time, in previous years, customers were bustling, now purchasing power has decreased significantly, consumption at our agency has decreased by about 30%. The trend of customers is mainly using Vietnamese confectionery, because domestically produced confectionery has beautiful designs, good quality, and prices are 20% - 30% lower than imported confectionery".

It is expected that the purchasing power of essential food items, including confectionery products, at supermarkets, agents, and markets will be bustling in the 10 days before Tet when people step up their Tet shopping for their families. At BigC supermarket, goods for the Tet market have been imported by this supermarket since 1 month ago, with nearly 2,000 confectionery items of all kinds, mainly from major brands such as Kinh Do, Bibica, Hai Ha, Huu Nghi... Mr. Nguyen Thanh Duc - Head of the sweet food department of BigC supermarket, said: For Tet confectionery, BigC has prepared a source of goods worth 20 billion VND with a variety of types, meeting the market demand. Of which, the main confectionery products are domestically produced, accounting for 80% - 90%, the amount of imported goods is very small. In particular, Kinh Do's tin boxed cakes are very popular with consumers. BigC is committed to keeping prices of products stable until close to Tet.

For beverage products: wine, beer, soft drinks of all kinds... BigC also imported goods from 1 month ago, with hundreds of beverage products. The source of beer of all kinds includes 6,000 - 7,000 crates, stable prices, Heineken beer is priced at 356,000 VND/box, Hanoi beer is 210,000 VND/box. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh - Head of beverage counter, BigC Supermarket said: The selling price of beer in the supermarket is lower than the market price, so purchasing power has increased.

However, besides genuine, long-standing confectionery products, there are also many "fake" products of reputable brands on the market, which can easily confuse consumers, especially rural customers. For example, Gouté cake by Orion has a retail price of 43,000 VND/box; on the market there are also Gouté cakes with similar packaging but not produced by Orion, or Hiro egg cakes imported from Malaysia, priced at 43,000 VND/box. On the market there are also Hiro cakes produced by many domestic private enterprises, priced at less than 30,000 VND/box. Chocopie cake by Orion, there are also other companies producing similar products using cheap chocobic products...

According to our observations, the Tet goods market this year is quite diverse, from high-end to low-end, suitable for a variety of customer needs. Branded products, good quality, affordable prices are the priority choice of consumers. Meanwhile, expensive imported products, or low-end products, unknown brands, have very poor purchasing power. This is also an opportunity for domestically produced confectionery to increase market share.

Quynh Lan